Through much of Sunday's final round of the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, it seemed as if Collin Morikawa was set to cruise to his first PGA Tour victory in nearly a year and a half, as he held a three-shot lead with just five holes to play.
But Russell Henley, who nearly took himself out of contention with bogeys on both par-5s on his opening nine, refused to go quietly, making a late charge to steal the victory and the $4 million payday and 700 FedEx Cup points that go along with it.
While Morikawa made bogey at the par-3 14th after missing the green, thus dropping to 10-under, Henley hit his tee shot to within 10 feet and drained the ensuing birdie putt, getting himself to within one at 9-under.
After both made par at the 15th, there was yet another two-shot swing at the par-5 16th, which played as the easiest hole on the course all week.
Morikawa found a fairway bunker off the tee, and after electing to lay up with his second shot, he hit a wedge to just under 19 feet with his third but couldn't make the birdie putt, ultimately making par.
Henley was in much better shape off the tee after striping a 311-yard drive down the left side of the fairway. But his second shot left a bit to be desired, as it found the thick rough to the right of the green, leaving an awkward chip back down the slope toward the hole.
However, the former Georgia Bulldog played the shot almost perfectly. While it had a little more speed than he probably would have liked, the ball hit the middle of the flagstick and dropped directly in the cup for an eagle to give Henley a one-shot lead at 11-under.
And that proved to be the winning score as both made pars at 17 and 18, giving Henley the fifth PGA Tour victory of his career and his first win since the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship.
The 35-year-old is also the fourth different winner in four Signature Events this season, joining Hideki Matsuyama (The Sentry), Rory McIlroy (Pebble Beach), and Ludvig Åberg (The Genesis). With the win, Henley vaulted into the seventh spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest standing of his career.
Final 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational payouts
Here's a quick look at the final payout for every player who made the cut at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Position | Player | Score | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Russell Henley | -11 | $4,000,000 |
2 | Collin Morikawa | -10 | $2,200,000 |
3 | Corey Conners | -9 | $1,400,000 |
4 | Michael Kim | -8 | $1,000,000 |
T5 | Keegan Bradley | -7 | $800,000 |
T5 | Sepp Straka | -7 | $800,000 |
7 | Shane Lowry | -6 | $700,000 |
T8 | Byeong Hun An | -5 | $600,667 |
T8 | Justin Rose | -5 | $600,667 |
T8 | Jason Day | -5 | $600,667 |
T11 | Tommy Fleetwood | -4 | $451,250 |
T11 | Scottie Scheffler | -4 | $451,250 |
T11 | Robert MacIntyre | -4 | $451,250 |
T11 | Aaron Rai | -4 | $451,250 |
T15 | Jacob Bridgeman | -3 | $349,000 |
T15 | Daniel Berger | -3 | $349,000 |
T15 | Rory McIlroy | -3 | $349,000 |
18 | Denny McCarthy | -2 | $309,000 |
T19 | Sungjae Im | -1 | $269,334 |
T19 | Si Woo Kim | -1 | $269,334 |
T19 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | -1 | $269,334 |
T22 | Ludvig Åberg | E | $178,112 |
T22 | Hideki Matsuyama | E | $178,112 |
T22 | Will Zalatoris | E | $178,112 |
T22 | Chris Kirk | E | $178,112 |
T22 | Patrick Rodgers | E | $178,112 |
T22 | Max Greyserman | E | $178,112 |
T22 | Matt Fitzpatrick | E | $178,112 |
T22 | Mackenzie Hughes | E | $178,112 |
T22 | Wyndham Clark | E | $178,112 |
T31 | Patrick Cantlay | +1 | $126,000 |
T31 | J.J. Spaun | +1 | $126,000 |
T31 | Nick Taylor | +1 | $126,000 |
T34 | Austin Eckroat | +2 | $111,500 |
T34 | Andrew Novak | +2 | $111,500 |
T36 | Lucas Glover | +3 | $96,750 |
T36 | Adam Scott | +3 | $96,750 |
T36 | Justin Thomas | +3 | $96,750 |
T36 | Tony Finau | +3 | $96,750 |
T40 | Xander Schauffele | +4 | $78,000 |
T40 | Sam Stevens | +4 | $78,000 |
T40 | Max McGreevy | +4 | $78,000 |
T40 | Brian Harman | +4 | $78,000 |
T40 | Tom Hoge | +4 | $78,000 |
T45 | Adam Hadwin | +5 | $62,000 |
T45 | Isaiah Salinda | +5 | $62,000 |
T45 | Ben Griffin | +5 | $62,000 |
T48 | Sam Burns | +6 | $56,000 |
T48 | Jackson Koivun (a) | +6 | $0 |
T50 | J.T. Poston | +7 | $53,000 |
T50 | Eric Cole | +7 | $53,000 |